2.1 Membrane Fusion Events
Membrane fusion is a ubiquitous cell biological process (for a review, see White, J. M., 1992, Science 258:917-924). Fusion events which mediate cellular housekeeping functions, such as endocytosis, constitutive secretion, and recycling of membrane components, occur continuously in all eukaryotic cells.
Additional fusion events occur in specialized cells. Intracellularly, for example, fusion events are involved in such processes as occur in regulated exocytosis of hormones, enzymes and neurotransmitters. Intercellularly, such fusion events feature prominently in, for example, sperm-egg fusion and myoblast fusion.
Fusion events are also associated with disease states. For example, fusion events are involved in the formation of giant cells during inflammatory reactions, the entry of all enveloped viruses into cells, and, in the case of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), for example, are responsible for the virally induced cell-cell fusion which leads to cell death.
2.2. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been implicated as the primary cause of the slowly degenerative immune system disease termed acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) (Barre-Sinoussi, F. et al., 1983, Science 220:868-870; Gallo, R. et al., 1984, Science 224:500-503). There are at least two distinct types of HIV: HIV-1 (Barre-Sinoussi, F. et al., 1983, Science 220:868-870; Gallo R. et al., 1984, Science 224:500-503) and HIV-2 (Clavel, F. et al., 1986, Science 233:343-346; Guyader, M. et al., 1987, Nature 326:662-669). Further, a large amount of genetic heterogeneity exists within populations of each of these types. Infection of human CD-4.sup.+ T-lymphocytes with an HIV virus leads to depletion of the cell type and eventually to opportunistic infections, neurological dysfunctions, neoplastic growth, and ultimately death.
HIV is a member of the lentivirus family of retroviruses (Teich, N. et al., 1984, RNA Tumor Viruses, Weiss, R. et al., eds., CSH-Press, pp. 949-956). Retroviruses are small enveloped viruses that contain a diploid, single-stranded RNA genome, and replicate via a DNA intermediate produced by a virally-encoded reverse transcriptase, an RNA-dependent DNA polymerase (Varmus, H., 1988, Science 240:1427-1439). Other retroviruses include, for example, oncogenic viruses such as human T-cell leukemia viruses (HTLV-I,-II,-III), and feline leukemia virus.
The HIV viral particle consists of a viral core, composed of capsid proteins, that contains the viral RNA genome and those enzymes required for early replicative events. Myristylated Gag protein forms an outer viral shell around the viral core, which is, in turn, surrounded by a lipid membrane enveloped derived from the infected cell membrane. The HIV enveloped surface glycoproteins are synthesized as a single 160 Kd precursor protein which is cleaved by a cellular protease during viral budding into two glycoproteins, gp41 and gp120. gp41 is a transmembrane protein and gp120 is an extracellular protein which remains non-covalently associated with gp41, possibly in a trimeric or multimeric form (Hammarskjold, M. and Rekosh, D., 1989, Biochem. Biophys. Acta 989:269-280).
HIV is targeted to CD-4.sup.+ cells because the CD-4 cell surface protein acts as the cellular receptor for the HIV-1 virus (Dalgleish, A. et al., 1984, Nature 312:763-767; Klatzmann et al., 1984, Nature 312:767-768; Maddon et al., 1986, Cell 47:333-348). Viral entry into cells is dependent upon gp120 binding the cellular CD-4.sup.+ receptor molecules (McDougal, J. S. et al., 1986, Science 231:382-385; Maddon, P. J. et al., 1986, Cell 47:333-348) and thus explains HIV's tropism for CD-4.sup.+ cells, while gp41 anchors the enveloped glycoprotein complex in the viral membrane.
2.3. HIV Treatment
HIV infection is pandemic and HIV associated diseases represent a major world health problem. Although considerable effort is being put into the successful design of effective therapeutics, currently no curative anti-retroviral drugs against AIDS exist. In attempts to develop such drugs, several stages of the HIV life cycle have been considered as targets for therapeutic intervention (Mitsuya, H. et al., 1991, FASEB J. 5:2369-2381). For example, virally encoded reverse transcriptase has been one focus of drug development. A number of reverse-transcriptase-targeted drugs, including 2',3'-dideoxynucleoside analogs such as AZT, ddI, ddC, and d4T have been developed which have been shown to been active against HIV (Mitsuya, H. et al., 1991, Science 249:1533-1544). While beneficial, these nucleoside analogs are not curative, probably due to the rapid appearance of drug resistant HIV mutants (Lander, B. et al., 1989, Science 243:1731-1734). In addition, the drugs often exhibit toxic side effects such as bone marrow suppression, vomiting, and liver function abnormalities.
Attempts are also being made to develop drugs which can inhibit viral entry into the cell, the earliest stage of HIV infection. Here, the focus has thus far been on CD4, the cell surface receptor for HIV. Recombinant soluble CD4, for example, has been shown to inhibit infection of CD-4.sup.+ T-cells by some HIV-1 strains (Smith, D. H. et al., 1987, Science 238:1704-1707). Certain primary HIV-1 isolates, however, are relatively less sensitive to inhibition by recombinant CD-4 (Daar, E. et al., 1990, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 87:6574-6579). In addition, recombinant soluble CD-4 clinical trials have produced inconclusive results (Schooley, R. et al., 1990, Ann. Int. Med. 112:247-253; Kahn, J. O. et al., 1990, Ann. Int. Med. 112:254-261; Yarchoan, R. et al., 1989, Proc. Vth Int. Conf. on AIDS, p. 564, MCP 137).
The late stages of HIV replication, which involve crucial virus-specific secondary processing of certain viral proteins, have also been suggested as possible anti-HIV drug targets. Late stage processing is dependent on the activity of a viral protease, and drugs are being developed which inhibit this protease (Erickson, J., 1990, Science 249:527-533). The clinical outcome of these candidate drugs is still in question.
Attention is also being given to the development of vaccines for the treatment of HIV infection. The HIV-1 enveloped proteins (gp160, gp120, gp41) have been shown to be the major antigens for anti-HIV antibodies present in AIDS patients (Barin, et al., 1985, Science 228:1094-1096). Thus far, therefore, these proteins seem to be the most promising candidates to act as antigens for anti-HIV vaccine development. To this end, several groups have begun to use various portions of gp160, gp120, and/or gp41 as immunogenic targets for the host immune system. See for example, Ivanoff, L. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,867; Saith, G. et al., WO 92/22,654; Shafferman, A., WO 91/09,872; Formoso, C. et al., WO 90/07,119. Clinical results concerning these candidate vaccines, however, still remain far in the future.
Thus, although a great deal of effort is being directed to the design and testing of anti-retroviral drugs, a truly effective, non-toxic treatment is still needed.